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NEVADA CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008!The Nevada Championships were held in April and May 2008 to determine the Nevada State Champions and the qualifiers for the Region IV stage of the National Championship Series. The tournament had regionalized first/second rounds to reduce the teams to four for the finals weekends. As in 2007, the finals rounds were shared between northern and southern Nevada, with the north hosting the U13 and U16 age groups and the south hosting the remaining age groups. For the northern finals, there were two qualifying teams from both regions. For the southern finals, northern Nevada had one place and southern Nevada had two places. The first/second round in Las Vegas lasted a marathon 16 days, with all games played at the Bettye Wilson Complex. Northern Nevada played only five first-round games, as the number of teams from the north was greatly reduced from 2007 mainly because of teams’ inability to attend the Far West Regional finals in Hawaii should they win. This year saw a number of upsets, with many No. 1 seeds and champions failing to live up to their seeding. Northern Nevada teams fared particularly well, with one team winning the championship — the first for the north for some years. Advertisement  The final round took place on consecutive weekends in May, with the U13 and U16 boys and girls playing at the South Valley Complex in Reno on May 10-11, and the remaining teams playing May 17-18 at the Bettye Wilson Complex in Las Vegas. Conditions in Reno were ideal for the finals. In the U13 girls, Vegas Vengeance staged a surprise upset of the Regional Champions and No. 1-seed Neusport FC ’95 Green by winning, 1-0. Third place went to the Nevada Netrippers of northern Nevada. In U13 boys, reigning champions JUFC Legacy ’95 retained its championship by beating LV Premier ’95 in the final for the second year running, 2-0. SSSC Jaguars ’95 of northern Nevada came in third. In the U16 boys, a competitive and high-quality final between reigning champions LV Premier ’92 and the NV Devils ’92 saw the Devils take the championship on penalties after the game was tied, 2-2, after extra time. Capital Nomads of Carson City came in third. In the U16 girls, for the fifth consecutive year the final matched FC Las Vegas ’92 and Neusport FC ’92. FC Las Vegas avenged last year’s defeat by beating the No. 1-seed by a 1-0 scoreline. Heat FC ’92 Orange took third place. After a windy first/second round, the final round in Las Vegas saw calm — though warm — conditions. In U11 girls, No. 5-seed NV Academy ’97 beat No. 4-seed Black Mountain FC ’97 Black, 3-2, in a close game. Third place was taken by No. 1-seed Heat FC ’97 Orange. In U11 boys, LV Premier ’97 beat Neusport FC ’97 Green, 4-1, in the final, after both teams reached the final with 100 percent record. Third place was taken by Manchester United ’97, on penalties. In U12 girls, LV Premier ’96 upset reigning champions Neusport FC ’96 Green 2-1, to take the title. Acceleration, of northern Nevada was third. In U12 boys, a LV Premier repeat of last year’s U11 final saw champions LV Premier ’96 White narrowly defeat Downtown LVSC ’96 Gold, 3-2. Third place was taken by Neusport FC ’96 Green. In U14 girls, Neusport FC ’94 Green and LV Premier ’94 White met in the final for the third-consecutive year. Neusport FC won its first title by a comfortable 3-0 margin. Third place was taken by FC Las Vegas ’94 Mundial. In boys U14, reigning champions Vegas United took the title from Pumas United, 3-1, in a fiercely competitive game. Neusport FC ’94 Green was third. In girls U15, last year’s finalists in U14, Neusport ’93 Green beat Gunners Reloaded from northern Nevada, 7-1, to take the title. FC Las Vegas ’93 Mundial was third. In boys U15, a surprise final saw SSC Twisters of northern Nevada defeat No. 4-seed LV Premier ’93, 1-0. Santos Laguna took third place on penalties. In U17 girls, Reno Black met four-time champions Neusport FC ’91 in the final, which saw Neusport FC take its fifth-consecutive title, 3-1. Third place was taken by Heat FC ’91 Orange. In U17 boys, after a shaky start in the first round, Real Las Vegas defeated International Zephyrs of northern Nevada, 2-1, in an excellent match. Third place was taken by previous three-time champions VVFA Cosmos. In U18 girls, FC Las Vegas ’90 Mundial carried away its fourth-consecutive title by beating Dosveedanya ’90, 3-1. Third place was taken by last year’s losing finalists, Heat FC ’90. In U18 boys, for the fourth year in a row Neusport FC ’90 met Strikers ’90 FC of northern Nevada in the final, and Neusport FC were again victorious, winning their sixth-consecutive championship by a 6-0 scoreline. LV Wildcats took third place. In U19 girls, FC Las Vegas ’89 Rebels Select took their fifth-consecutive title, beating second-place PSC ’89 and third-place Devastation SC ’89 Blue in a round-robin. In U19 boys, Neusport FC ’89 was unopposed to take the title. The Nevada Championships 2008 policy of holding part of the final round in northern Nevada was again a great success. The one-game-per-day format, with games on no more than two consecutive days, made player fatigue and injury less of a factor. Consequently, the level of play was higher than in recent years. Coach feedback was overwhelmingly positive on this change. As always, this event could not be a success without the many people who give their time and effort for free. The Nevada Championships 2008 Committee:
REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
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